There are usually three animal-based perfumes that include musk, civet and ambergris. These scents are subtle in perfumes mainly due to their strong and lingering aromas, also their ability to withstand evaporation tests.
Let's start with the musk. Musk is a central scent used in perfumery and is a glandular secretion found in a pouch or pod under the belly of the musk deer or moschiferus.
For the Chinese, musk is not a modern word. They have known musk for years. They called it Shay heang. Shay used to mean animal, while heang meant perfume.
Musk is a sticky material characterized by its reddish-brown color, which turns black when exposed to air.
The clearer musk is called grain, which is extracted from the pods. Musk has a modern reputation in perfumery as the strongest and most enduring of known perfumes, and is exquisite in manufacturing of perfume.
The smell of musk is not entirely animal, but synthetic. The synthetic nature of musk is present to a lesser extent in others, such as musk ox, muskrat, musk duck, etc.
The yellow-flowered musk plant can also be used in musk perfumes, although its strength is not suitable for extraction.
Viverra Civetta, an animal found in Africa and India, secretes a gland called Civeton. Civet has a bad smell when isolated alone. But when diluted and mixed with other scents, the result is always touching and attractive. Also, the floral scent in civet is much greater than the musk.
Ambergris comes from the gray amber called amber gris. Ambergris is a product of sperm whales, it is found in bulk and people take it floating in the sea or washed ashore. Amber is popular in the coasts of Greenland, Brazil, India, China, Japan and so on.
Ambergris is not a pleasant smell by itself, its smell is earthy or moldy, so it is usually blended with other perfumes for an intriguing effect. This is the only way to produce the essential amber perfume.